14 Actors That Were Almost Cast In The Hunger Games Franchise

When it comes time to cast a movie, the process can be extensive. Whether or not a filmmaker or casting director has someone in mind for a particular part, there are almost always an endless round of auditions. These can be done all over the world, and when the film in question is as big as something like "The Hunger Games," the stakes are high.

Nearly a dozen known actors auditioned for the role of Katniss Everdeen before it went to Jennifer Lawrence. Seeing as Katniss is the lead, this isn't too surprising, though some of the names on that casting call sheet may be. Other prominent roles like Peeta Mellark also brought in some heavy hitters before Josh Hutcherson ultimately landed the part.

The same is true of many characters featured in "The Hunger Games" films. As of 2024, that franchise consists of five movies, and each one needed new actors to tackle a variety of parts from those films. Whether it was for Peeta, Brutus, or even Haymitch, a prominent actor came close to playing them. Here are some of the biggest names that were almost cast in "The Hunger Games" franchise.

Hailee Steinfeld's breakout role arrived at the age of 14 in 2010's "True Grit," and she continued turning heads with performances in the "Pitch Perfect" franchise as well as "The Transformers" via "2018's "Bumblebee." Steinfeld also racked up several comic book roles, voicing Gwen Stacy in Sony's "Spider-Verse" films as well as playing expert archer Kate Bishop in "Hawkeye."

It's fair to say that Steinfeld has an extensive resume of impressive franchise titles, but one franchise that eluded her is "The Hunger Games," but not for lack of trying. Steinfeld was up for Katniss Everdeen and got far in the audition and casting process. She ultimately lost the part to Jennifer Lawrence and spoke about it during an interview with Independent in 2019.

When the interviewer asked about her Katniss audition, Steinfeld jokingly blurted out "Don't bring that up!" She went on to say that, "There are so many parts that I wanted or didn't get ... But I think, weirdly, it's the same feeling of having missed every high school dance and prom, and yet I somehow found my way to the Met Gala. I feel like I've made up for it."

These days, Shailene Woodley is best known for starring in "The Fault in Our Stars," "Big Little Lies," and playing the lead in a YA franchise, "The Divergent Series," so she's had some excellent roles over the years. Still, the one YA franchise that eluded Woodley was "The Hunger Games." Unfortunately, according to the actor, the audition didn't go her way.

Woodley sat for an interview with The Daily Beast in 2014 to discuss her work in "Divergent," and the topic of Katniss came up. The interviewer asked her if she auditioned for Katniss, which she confirmed, and was asked which scenes she performed. Woodley said that she thought the audition went well enough, but when she walked out, she concluded that she wasn't getting the part.

"We had to do two scenes that weren't even in the movie, I believe. One of the scenes was when she first gets called to go into The Hunger Games and has to say goodbye to her mother and Gayle." In a separate interview with MTV, Woodley admitted, "It wasn't like a great audition. But I think that Jennifer Lawrence is perfect for the role" (via Daily Mail).

Austin Butler rose through the ranks of the Hollywood elite by playing the King in "Elvis," and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in "Dune: Part Two." He also fought the Nazis in "Masters of the Air" and continues landing high-profile roles, one after the other. Right before he blew up, Butler tried his hand at playing Peeta in "The Hunger Games" but lost the part through the audition process.

While answering questions for BuzzFeed Celeb alongside his "The Bikeriders" co-star, Jodie Comer, Butler revealed that he gave playing Peeta a shot. "I auditioned for 'The Hunger Games' and I didn't get it at all. I don't even think I got a call back. Yeah, it was for the part of Peeta. Yeah, Josh Hutcherson got that." After finishing his brief explanation, Comer responded by saying, "Their loss, Austin."

Butler expanded a bit, noting that Hutcherson was great in the role, but from the look on his face, it seems he was hit with a little disappointment about how things worked out with his audition. Ultimately, missing out on Peeta didn't slow Butler's career down at all, and he's been landing massive gigs ever since, including playing Elvis.

Around the time casting for Peeta was underway, Lucas Till was mostly unknown outside of "Hannah Montana". He had some movies under his belt, including playing Alex Summers, aka Havok, in "X-Men: First Class." Till was right at the point of exploding in popularity, which "The Hunger Games" would have helped, though, as we now know, he didn't get the part.

Still, Till got further than most, and after his initial audition, he got a call back to do a screen test. This came about a week after Jennifer Lawrence won the part of Katniss Everdeen, so having Till read with her was a way for the casting folks to determine their on-screen chemistry.

The screen test must not have gone well, seeing as the actor didn't win the role despite being a front-runner. In March 2011, J-14 confirmed Till's final step in the audition process but noted that he didn't think it went well. That's clear in hindsight, but J-14 wrote that Till admitted he was prepared not to get the part. While that franchise didn't work out for him, Till reprised his role of Havok in two subsequent "X-Men" films.

Evan Peters has been playing complex roles for years, having knocked out different parts on "American Horror Story," he played the eponymous killer in "Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story," and he's played Pietro Maximoff and Peter Maximoff in two separate properties. Around the time they were casting for Peeta, Peters had just appeared in "Kick-Ass," so he was doing well.

Still, he wanted the role of Peeta, so he auditioned for it. Unfortunately, he didn't get the part, but he did make his way through the process. After auditioning at least once, he got a call back to run through a scene with Jennifer Lawrence shortly after she was cast. Peters spoke about this process during a 2011 interview with Vulture.

When asked about testing for Peeta, the actor explained, "I did, yeah. That was really cool; I got to do a scene with Jennifer Lawrence. I was nervous as hell because she's such a fantastic actress. And the movie is such a great story — I love all those books. I can't wait to see the movie. I'm so psyched."

One actor who's had an interesting career playing all kinds of characters in a plethora of popular pictures is Kevin Durand. He portrayed Blob in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," Martin Keamy in "Lost," and Proximus Caesar in "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," Durand's career has been diverse, and when it came time to cast Brutus in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," the actor was reportedly in line for the part.

Ultimately, the part of District Four's male tribute went to Bruno Gunn, but Durand's name was passed around for a bit as casting was underway. Shockya, which is a source that should be taken with a grain of salt, revealed in June 2012 that Durand was in the running to play Brutus, though he had some competition to deal with.

While Durand didn't land the part, nor is it clear how far he got in his audition, Gunn's name wasn't mentioned in the Shockya article. That piece was picked up by several outlets, though Durand hasn't addressed the casting rumor in any interviews. If the rumors are true, Durand's career didn't suffer from missing out on the role, as he's been booking high-profile jobs for years.

Kevin Nash got into acting in the early 1990s, playing Super Shredder in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze." He's since landed several roles in higher-profile projects, including playing Francis in "John Wick" and Tarzan in "Magic Mike XXL." Still, while he's been killing it in Hollywood, Nash is probably best known for his pro wrestling days.

Still, wrestling isn't Nash's only skillset, and he's proven that time and time again in television and films. Nash set his sights on the role of Brutus, the male tribute from District Four, who appears in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." Nash was up for the role, and while it's unclear how far he got, as we now know, he didn't get it.

USA Today attended the "Magic Mike XXL" premiere and spoke with several cast members, including Nash. During that event, Nash mentioned that he was up for a role in the film, though he didn't specify which one at the time. He did mention, "I just pray it's recurring, that he doesn't get killed." Unfortunately for Brutus, his time in the franchise ended at the tip of Peeta's spear.

An incredibly talented actor who's dominated television, the theater, and films, is Kristin Chenoweth. She's also a writer and an incredibly talented singer with numerous albums and hit singles to her name. Chenoweth also has a bubbly personality that should have made her an ideal candidate to play Effie Trinket, a role that went to Elizabeth Banks.

After she read "The Hunger Games," Chenoweth tweeted she was obsessed with the YA novel. More than that, she was obsessed with playing Effie. During an appearance on the "Shining Bright but Doing the Work with Jenny McCarthy" podcast, Chenoweth discussed how much she loves Banks in the role before explaining how things went during casting:

"I really wanted to play Effie Trinket in 'The Hunger Games,' but you know, when I went to see it. I had a great meeting, and I had a great time reading the material — I was a fan of the books. When I found out it wasn't going my way, I was like, 'Who is it?", before praising Banks' performance. While she had a great attitude, Chenoweth still sounded disappointed that she didn't get to play the part.

John C. Reilly has been killing it in Hollywood for decades, having starred in "Boogie Nights," "Step Brothers," and he lent his voice to Wreck It Ralph in his eponymous films. Reilly is often seen starring opposite Will Ferrell in comedies, but he's proven his acting chops in a variety of genres, so it's unsurprising to learn that the comedy legend was up for the role of Haymitch Abernathy in "The Hunger Games."

That part went to Woody Harrelson, and he did an amazing job with it. Still, it's interesting to imagine how things would have played out had Reilly landed the role. According to Vulture, Reilly was going to receive an offer to play Haymitch, but that didn't pan out despite numerous outlets reporting that he was the most likely candidate to play the part.

There was plenty of confusion over casting as things were ramping up for "The Hunger Games" production. According to Today, the actors who were cast were put under a restrictive gag order, which explains why it looked as if Reilly was tapped to play Haymitch right up to the point it was confirmed he wasn't.

Around the time casting kicked off for "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," Garrett Hedlund was a relative newcomer. He'd landed several high-profile roles, including playing Sam Flynn in "Tron: Legacy," and he appeared in numerous films and TV series since. He was also one of the names being passed around to play Finnick Odair.

Hedlund got far in the casting process, which he explained during a 2012 interview with MTV. Hedlund said he was approached about the part, but he was already working on a different project and couldn't find the time to sit down and read the books. From what he described, he might have been tapped for the role had his schedule opened up, but Hedlund wasn't too concerned about it.

The actor told MTV, "Everybody around me is flipping out about the books, and I didn't really have the time to sit down lately and read any book, not just 'Hunger Games.' But I've got a couple [projects] on my plate that I'm looking forward to reading now." Hedlund was up against several prominent actors, though the part went to Sam Claflin, who was largely unknown at the time.

Taylor Kitsch is one of those actors who's appeared in a ton of popular movies, but is somehow not as well known as he should be. He played Gambit in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the eponymous lead in "John Carter," and many more impressive roles. Kitsch has also worked in television, and is probably best known for playing Tim Riggins on "Friday Night Lights."

Like so many others, Kitsch eyed a part in "The Hunger Games" franchise, and his name was one that came up a lot in connection with Finnick Odair. HollywoodLife revealed in 2012 that he and Garrett Hedlund were the final two in the running to play Finnick. Neither actor ended up landing the part, which went to Sam Claflin.

It's unclear how far Kitsch actually got in the process, but when the Los Angeles Times reached out to him for comment, he was pretty clear. Kitsch explained that it was "Not going to happen." 

Of all the actors who were considered for a role in "The Hunger Games" franchise, Tony Shalhoub is likely the biggest. Shalhoub established himself in television early on, landing the role of Antonio Scarpacci on "Wings." While that was a big break, "Monk" is arguably Shalhoub's biggest gig, and he managed to return to the franchise in which he earned many accolades.

Shalhoub's list of roles is long, but it doesn't include playing Beetee Latier, first introduced in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." That role eventually went to Jeffrey Wright, but Shalhoub was in the running before it went to him. In 2012, Variety reported early in the casting process that Shalhoub was the frontrunner to play Beetee in the film.

Shalhoub's name came up around the same time Amanda Plummer landed the role of Wiress, the female tribute from District Three, while Beetee was the male tribute. It's unclear why Shalhoub didn't win the part, and Wright did. Shalhoub didn't suffer much from losing the role, and he went on to appear in dozens of films and television series, including "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and "Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie."

Mia Wasikowska played a few interesting roles early in her career, but her breakout character was, without a doubt, playing Alice in "Alice in Wonderland." After that, she landed numerous parts that made her an in-demand actor. When the "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" production began looking for someone to play Johanna Mason, Wasikowska was one of the actors interested.

Another name on that short list was relative newcomer Zoe Aggeliki, though both actors were mostly unknown at the time. Multiple outlets reported that Wasikowska was likely to be selected to play Johanna, but the role eventually went to Jena Malone. It's unclear how far Wasikowska made it through the casting process before the production passed on her for the part.

As casting was ramping up during the lead-up to the production of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," rumors abounded the Internet, and this appears to be one of them. Wasikowska hasn't confirmed that she was up for the role of Johanna since the film was released, so if the rumors are true, she likely moved onto her next project, and this was during a busy time in her filmography, so she did alright.

An actor who's probably best known for her performances on television, having worked extensively on projects like "All My Children," "The Young Riders," and "Homicide: Life on the Street," is Melissa Leo, who also won an Oscar for her performance in 2010's "The Fighter." Fans of the "Hunger Games" franchise will be interested to know that Leo was one of the actors considered for the role of Mags Flanagan, the mute female tribute from District Four.

That role went to Lynn Cohen, and she did an excellent job conveying a wide range of emotions without speaking — a difficult task for any actor. While casting was still filled with online rumors and a lot of back-and-forth for a number of actors, Leo spoke with Moviefone about the rumors.

The interview was about her film "Why Stop Now," but the question arose after Cohen was confirmed. When asked about the casting, Leo said, "I would have liked to have done it, but it doesn't look like it'll be mine" (via Daily News). Leo expanded a little, offering up the reason she thought she might have been passed over, "I'm not much of a reader, and that might very well be part of the reason that I did not get the role."